Deuteronomy 19:5

New International Reader's Version

For example, suppose a man goes into a forest with his neighbor to cut wood. When he swings his ax to chop down a tree, the head of the ax flies off. And it hits his neighbor and kills him. Then that man can run to one of those cities and save his life.

Cross References

2 Kings 6:4

And he went with them. They went to the Jordan River. There they began to cut down trees.

Proverbs 27:12

Wise people see danger and go to a safe place. But childish people keep on going and suffer for it.

Isaiah 32:2

Each official will be like a place to get out of the wind. He will be like a place to hide from storms. He’ll be like streams of water flowing in the desert. He’ll be like the shadow of a huge rock in a dry and thirsty land.

Numbers 35:25

The court must provide a safe place for the person accused of murder. It must keep the one accused of murder safe from those who want to kill them. The court must send the accused person back to the city they ran to for safety. The accused person must stay there until the high priest dies. That priest has been anointed with holy oil.

Deuteronomy 19:4

Here is the rule about a person who kills someone. That person can run to one of those cities for safety. The rule applies to anyone who kills a neighbor they didn’t hate and didn’t mean to kill.

Deuteronomy 19:6

If he doesn’t go to one of those cities, the dead man’s nearest male relative might become very angry. He might chase the man. If the city is too far away, he might catch him and kill him. But the man running to the city isn’t worthy of death, because he didn’t hate his neighbor.